54 ❙ WATTPoultryUSA
AgNet.
com
WORLD'S
TOP COMPANIES
THE WORLD'S LEADING BROILER, TURKEY AND EGG PRODUCERS
Top US turkey producers growing
amid challenging market
While production grew in total, some leading turkey companies
scaled back production in 2017 and will scale back further in 2018,
according to WATT PoultryUSA's Top Poultry Company rankings.
AUSTIN ALONZO
coming year. Those 14 companies said they collectively plan on decreasing production by 33 million live
pounds of turkeys in 2018.
Oversupply situation forcing
reduction for some
In 2017, Hormel Foods Corp. CEO Jim Snee spoke
about an oversupply situation hampering the U.S. turkey
market. The market was rocked in 2015 by the highly
pathogenic avian influenza outbreak and subsequent
loss of about 8 million turkeys, but it recovered in 2016.
In February 2017, the leader of Jennie-O Turkey Store's
parent company said the industry was in an oversupply situation and that turkey prices - such as
breast meat - fell to a seven-year low.
The top turkey producers in the
U.S. grew in 2017, despite an
oversupply of turkey meat.
www.WATTAgNet.com ❙ March 2018
Bhofack2 | Dreamstime.com
Overall turkey production grew in 2016 and 2017, according to WATT Poultry USA's 2018 Top Poultry
Company rankings. However, several top U.S. turkey
producers are planning on reducing pounds of live turkeys produced in 2018.
The largest 22 turkey producers in the U.S. increased production of live turkeys by 163 million
pounds, or 2.24 percent, in 2017. In total, US turkey
companies produced 7.433 billion pounds. In 2016, the
total was 7.270 billion pounds.
Eight of the 14 companies that shared projections
for 2018 said they plan on reducing production
levels in the